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Saturday, April 25, 2026

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A diplomat is a man who always remembers a woman's birthday but never remembers her age. - Robert Frost

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Current racing:

• April 23 - 26: Vuelta Asturias

Upcoming racing:

• April 26: Liège-Bastogne-Liège
• April 26 - May 3: Tour of Turkey
• April 26: Giro dell'Appennino
• April 28 - May 3: Tour de Romandie
• May 1: Eschborn-Frankfurt

Latest completed racing:

• April 20 - 24: Tour of the Alps
• April 22: La Flèche Wallonne
• April 19: Amstel Gold Race
• April 15 - 19: Tour of Hainan
• April 14 - 18: O Gran Camiño
• April 17: De Brabantse Pijl
• April 19: Tour du Doubs race cancelled
• April 12: Paris-Roubaix
• April 6 - 11: Itzulia Basque Country (Tour of the Basque Country)
• April 7 - 10: Région Pays de la Loire Tour

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Teams preview Liège-Bastogne-Liège

Here's the update from the NSN Cycling Team:

Into the heart of the Ardennes: NSN set for Liège-Bastogne-Liège: Endurance, elevation and a race that rewards only the strongest.

At 259.5km and with over 4,000 meters of climbing, Liège-Bastogne-Liège stands as one of the most demanding races on the calendar. Starting and finishing in Liège, the route gradually builds before exploding in the final 100 kilometers, where a relentless sequence of climbs begins to shape the race.

From La Redoute onwards, the intensity rises sharply, with decisive moves often coming from distance rather than waiting for the finish. The final ascent of Roche-aux-Faucons typically proves critical, before a fast and technical run-in to Liège crowns one of the strongest riders of the day.

Sports Director Sam Bewley said: “We’re coming into the race with a versatile group, and the guys have been performing well throughout this Ardennes block. Marco Frigo showed great form at Amstel, and Alessandro Pinarello also comes in with good confidence after stepping into a leadership role recently.

Alessandro Pinarello wins stage five of the 2026 O Gran Camiño.

“It’s a race where positioning and timing are key, and we’ll look to stay present in the important moments and take our opportunities when they come.”

Recent performances add confidence to the group, with Marco Frigo coming off an impressive ride at Amstel Gold Race, where he spent over 200 kilometers in the breakaway and secured a top 10 finish, underlining his strength and endurance.

At the same time, Alessandro Pinarello arrives after stepping into a leadership role at Gran Camiño, gaining valuable experience that could prove important in a race where positioning and decision-making are key.

With his experience in the peloton and a strong understanding of how these long and demanding races unfold, Krists Neilands knows exactly what it takes to navigate a race like Liège-Bastogne-Liège.

Neilands said: “This is one of those 7,000 kcal races, which means it’s just a brutal day on the bike.

“In a race like this, you have to stay focused pretty much all day. You don’t want to be in the wrong place when a surprise acceleration happens.

“We need to keep an eye on dangerous moves, especially before the final climbs. But if the big guys decide to race it in a more traditional way, then we just have to make sure our leader is in the right position to deliver his best effort and get the most out of the race.”

Gilmore said: “I’m feeling good. After a solid ride at Amstel and a bit of bad luck at La Flèche Wallonne, I’m looking forward to my first Monument on Sunday.

“It’s going to be a really hard race from the start, especially with UAE likely setting it up for Pogačar. I think once he goes, maybe with one or two other favorites, it could actually open things up behind. The race can settle a bit, groups can come back together, and that could play in my favor. That’s how it played out last year, and I expect something similar.

“Positioning will be really important. It’s such a long race, and being in the right place helps save a lot of energy throughout the day.”

NSN Cycling Team at Liège-Bastogne-Liège (Sunday 26 April)

Riders: Alessandro Pinarello (ITA), Brady Gilmore (AUS), Krists Neilands (LAT), Marco Frigo (ITA), Pau Martí (ESP), Nick Schultz (AUS),George Bennett (NZL)

Sports Directors: Samuel Bewley (NZL), Oscar Guerrero (ESP), Alex Cataford (CAN)

Team Soudal Quick-Step posted this Liège-Bastogne-Liège news:

Sunday marks the end of this season’s Spring Classics at the oldest Monument in the world, Liège-Bastogne-Liège, a race created in 1892, more than a decade before the Tour de France. This year, “La Doyenne” follows a route largely similar to the one of 2025, which means the peloton will head south to Bastogne before returning to Liège for the most important part of the day.

The parcours will be shaped by the eleven hills and more than 4000 meters of elevation gain that are sure to play a major role in the outcome. Col du Maquisard (2.4km, 5.7%), Côte de Desiné (1.6km, 8.1%), the iconic Côte de la Redoute (1.6km, 9.4%) and Côte de La Roche-aux-Faucons (1.3km, 11%) - the last uphill test of the race, followed by a technical and tricky descent - are some of the most important hills of the race, all crammed inside the final 50 kilometers.

Steff Cras, Pascal Eenkhoorn, Maximilian Schachmann - who concluded third at the 2019 edition - 2022 Paris-Roubaix champion Dylan van Baarle, Amstel Gold Race top ten finisher Mauri Vansevenant, Louis Vervaeke, and Giro di Sardegna winner Filippo Zana will be the seven wolves taking on the 112th edition.

Dylan van Baarle (shown winning the 2022 Paris-Roubaix) will be on the Liège-Bastogne-Liège start line. Sirotti photo

There are a few changes to the parcours, but overall, it’s more or less similar to the one of last year.

“We have some key points on the route, and it will be important to be well positioned the entire time, because things can change rapidly there. We have a solid team for Sunday: Mauri showed in Amstel that he is in good form, Filippo was not far from the top ten on Wednesday, which is encouraging, as this race suits him better, while Max was on the podium here in the past. This makes us confident we can aim for a good result”, explained Soudal Quick-Step sports director Geert Van Bondt.

Here’s the Liège-Bastogne-Liège news from Team Lidl-Trek:

It’s time for the final act. The cobbles of Flanders and Roubaix are a distant memory and the curtain has been drawn on the punchy bergs that make up the Amstel Gold Race and Flèche Wallonne. All attention now turns to Sunday and Liège-Bastogne-Liège, the oldest one-day race in cycling history. As the fourth of the Monuments, La Doyenne (The Old Lady), is characterised by its extreme, mountainous and gruelling route through the Belgian Ardennes. Only the strongest will survive.

Riders who excel in Liège are those who relish the succession of short steep climbs, such as the Côte de la Redoute and Côte de la Roche-aux-Faucons, which define the second half of this bike race. With over 4000 metres of climbing in the men’s race and 2500 metres in the women’s, Liège is always a war of attrition. It is the crown jewel of the spring Classics season, and anyone who adds their name to the list of winners will be classed as bike racing royalty.

Both Lidl-Trek’s men’s and women’s teams can take confidence heading into Liège-Bastogne-Liège after the Ardennes classics week so far. On the men’s side, Mattias Skjelmose has impressed with a second place at Amstel and fifth place in Flèche. The 25-year-old is perfectly-suited to the repeated, explosive efforts that these Belgian ascents require and has proven his quality here every year. Alongside Skjelmose, our men’s squad also has options with Giulio Ciccone who finished second in Liège last season, and Matteo Sobrero who comes from a strong second place finish on the queen stage of Tour of the Alps.

Mattias Skjelmose after winning the 2025 Amstel Gold Race. Sirotti photo

Skjelmose commented:
"We're looking forward to the race. We've been here in the Ardennes for eight, nine days now and it's all been a build-up for the last showdown of the spring here in the air. 
I can take confidence from the last two races too, I think both for me personally and as a team. Ciccone and Matteo are joining us and I think it's going to be super nice for the group to make us do the final push and finish this week strongly. Cicco was second here last year so we have a lot we can do."

Niamh Fisher-Black is expected to lead our women’s team for the tenth edition of Liège-Bastogne-Liège Femmes. The Kiwi climber has already had a solid start to the season with top-10 finishes at Strade Bianche and Flèche Wallonne, and she also finished in seventh place at Liège last year. Alongside Fisher-Black, Isabella Holmgren proved her quality at Flèche Wallonne earlier this week where she came ninth despite a relative lack of experience in these Classics. The likes of Riejanne Markus and Lucinda Brand will be crucial road captains, sharing their experience with the younger riders on the squad, while Shirin van Anrooij and Loes Adegeest will be on the look out for early breakaways.

Niamh Fisher-Black said ahead of the race:
"We're optimistic going into Sunday’s race. I am a bit hungry because I've had a lot of bad luck the last couple of races. 
I hope that everything can go well on Sunday and I can actually show my legs. I think we have actually have a really strong team so I think there is an opportunity and we can do something nice. The best way to do it is to play all our cards and make some chaos because it's a really hard race, and it's always open."

And here's the Liège-Bastogne-Liège news from Team Bahrain Victorious:

Bahrain Victorious head to the final Monument of the Spring Classics and the Ardennes campaign with a strong line up led by Lenny Martinez and Santiago Buitrago.

The 112th edition of La Doyenne, the oldest Monument on the cycling calendar, takes place on Sunday 26th April. Starting and finishing in Liège, the race covers a demanding 259.5km route, featuring 12 climbs and a total elevation gain of 4,395 metres.

Buitrago returns to a race where he has enjoyed previous success, having finished on the podium in 2023. He will be joined by Lenny Martinez, who makes his debut at Liège Bastogne Liège. The young Frenchman will be aiming to bounce back after Flèche Wallonne, where he lacked the legs on the Mur, but remains confident of delivering a strong result on a course that suits his punchy climbing abilities.

Lenny Martinez after 2025 Tour de France stage 14. Sirotti photo

In support, Martinez and Buitrago will be joined by Pello Bilbao, who is competing in his final season and will take on the race for the last time. The Basque rider has also shown strong form here in recent years, finishing inside the top ten in 2024.

Antonio Tiberi, Fran Miholjević, Afonso Eulálio and Pau Miquel complete the line up, providing depth and support throughout the race, with the ability to cover moves and feature in key breakaways.

Sports Director Enrico Gasparotto commented:
“We have the ambition to fight for the podium here, but we know it will be difficult with the level of competition and the favourites in the race. That said, we have a well balanced team with depth, which gives us different options. There are key moments in this race where it can really open up, and we need to be ready to take our chances. It’s a long and demanding day, but the riders arrive in good condition, and with Buitrago’s previous podium here, we know what is possible.”